Washing device



April 30, 1957 A. A. JOHNSON 2,790,191

WASHING DEVICE Filed Aug. 16, 1954 I ZMW QMy/W ATTORNEYS WASHING DEVICE Axel A. Johnson, Holly, Mich. Application August 16, 1954, Serial No. 449,941

1 Claim. (Cl. 15-130) The present invention relates to improvements in washing devices and, more particularly, to a washing device which is an improvement of my United States Patents Nos. 2,075,850, issued April 6, 1937, and 2,269,721, issued January 13, 1942.

In my fonner Patent No. 2,075,850, it was necessary to cut or bore the cellular pad to form a cavity either in the top surface of the pad if the hose was to be inserted into the pad through the hand receiving element, or in the end of the pad and substantially in the center of the latter when the hand receiving element was made without separate fingers. This operation in the manufacturing of washing devices was not only time consuming and costly but also weakened the pad and did not provide a proper seal for the hose where the hose entered the pad. An improvement was made in my washing device disclosed in Patent No. 2,269,721 but in that patent it was necessary, in the manufacture of the device, to lay the flexible tube in position on the surface of the pad opposite its working surface and then secure it permanently in position by adding a separate beading strip to cover the tube and a portion of the pad. This was accomplished prior to the securing of the glove or hand receiving element to the pad. This operation also was found to be costly because it was time consuming and unsatisfactory in that the water would leak from the pad around the flexible hose entering the pad.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a washing device which will give a uniform distribution of water over the entire operating or working surface of the pad while eliminating water seepage between the hose and the pad where the hose enters the pad.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of a means in a washing device for evenly and uniformly distributing water over the working surface of the device.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a Washing device which may be either hand operated or inserted on an elongated handle and operated as a mop.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a washing device which is sturdy and durable despite constant use over surfaces of varying configurations.

These and other objects of the present invention will appear more clearly in the specification, claims and drawings in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the washing device of the present invention being used as a mop, portions of the device being shown in cross section and the mop handle in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the washing device of Figure 1, portions being shown in crosssection and the handle being omitted;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the washing device taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, the handle being omitted;

2,790,191 Patented Apr. 30, 1957 Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a device providing a cut in the surface of the cellular pad, and

Figure 5 is a fragmental cross-sectional view of the washing device after the device has been cut and the hand receiving element secured but prior to the insertion of the hose.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the washing device disclosed is primarily used for washing automobiles or the like, but other cleaning uses are within the scope of the present invention. The washing device comprises a cellular pad 10 preferably thick and rectangular in shape and made of sponge or latex rubber of such consistency that water will flow therethrough and be evenly distributed over the working surface of .the pad. A flexible rubber or synthetic rubber tube or hose 12 having one end inserted into the pad is provided for supplying water to pad 10. The tube or hose 12 is provided at its other end with a suitable fitting 14 and may be threaded onto a standard coupler of a garden hose 16 or the like. A more detailed description of the insertion and securing of tube 12 into cellular pad 10 will appear later in the specification. Mounted on the top surface 11 of cellular pad 10 is a hand receiving element 18 which is usually made of moisture-proof rubberized cloth and is in the form of a fingerless glove or mit. The lower surface 13 of hand receiving element 18 is adhesively secured to the top surface 11 of cellular pad 10.

In my aforementioned prior patents, flexible tube or hose 12 was secured to cellular pad 10 by boring a hole into the pad of a diameter substantially equal to that of the tube and then inserting and adhesively securing the tube in the hole. Also, it was disclosed that the tube could be secured to the pad beneath the hand receiving element by adhesively placing a heading strip over the entire extremity of the tube and a portion of the pad so as to retain the tube or hose on the upper surface of the pad. In the present invention, an improvement has been made in the pad in that a new means has been developed for securing the tube in the pad.

As disclosed in Figure 4, cellular pad 10 is placed on a former 20 having an exterior surface which is convex. The former may be any suitable cylindrical mandrel. By placing cellular pad 10 on former 20, the working .surface of the pad which is contiguous with the exterior surface of the former assumes a concave shape while the upper surface of the pad stretches and assumes a convex shape. In this position, the portion of the pad above a transverse medial line through the pad will be in tension whereas the portion of the pad below this line or adjacent the former 20 will be in compression. A rotary grinding tool or knife 22 is then moved longitudinally with respect to the former and over the pad cutting the pad on top surface 11 to a depth which is substantially equal to the diameter of hose 12. The longitudinal cut 24 is made from one end of the pad toward the other but terminates intermediate of or short of the other end of the pad. Since the rotary cutting tool 22 will be cutting material of the pad which is under tension, the tendency of the material, as the rotating knife 22 severs it is to pull part, consequently, after the cut has been made, and the pad 10 has been removed from former 20, it will assume its original rectangular shape and the cut will have side walls 24 as shown in Figure 5 which are substantially contiguous.

After the cut, which is generally indicated by the 11umeral 23, has been made and the pad is removed from former 20 and allowed to return to its normal shape through its inherent resiliency, hand receiving element 18 is adhesively secured to the pad as shown in Figure 5 so that the top portion of the cut, that is the portion adjacent the upper surface 11 of the pad 10, is sube se -9 stestieu QQQEEQS reenter b the he l trines element 18. In other words, after the mit has been adhesively secured to pad 10, 'tubeor hose 12 having adssiy 9 i ente su ace a h in e e n mg 2 se u ed r Plaqs- .Ih mat a o pa :10 a j cen th cut 2. W 1 .ssrure s slyen ircle b 12 s h h w l be s tleskas fwa srfrgmth nd f th p wb tbs tabs is n erted As will be noted in Figures 1 and 2, tube ;12 is provided with aplurality of transverse openings 25, as well as the end openihg 28. By providing the transverse openings 2 6 in tube 12 water will be evenly distributed th su hw the entire .ss ular a s ha h Work n 1 i??? 9 thread wil be s m le s covered wi l?" Further, it will be noted that the end of tube 12 which ti sit d int? n ss red o the P d 10 is cut n the bias, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 at 2 8 and the point 3113f the tube is placed closest to the upper surface of the pad. The purpose of cutting the end of tube 23 on a bias is so that the end of the tube will not wear through the upper surface of pad 18 and through the lower surface 12 of glove 1 8. Further, by having the end of tube12 cut on a bias, the end 32 of tube 12 becomes quite flexible and when the operator has the pad on his hand, the pad gar; take the various con-tours of an automobile without the annoying pressure of the tube pressing against the palm of the hand. A further advantage of cuttingthe end of tube 12 on a bias is that it makes he tube easier to insert into cellular pad 10.

Modern day automobiles are being made wider and without running boards so it is becoming increasingly diffcult for people to reach the top center part of the car to wash the same. Although the present invention is primarily a washing device adapted to fit over the hand of an operator, means are provided for reaching inaccessible places. The present invention includes an elongated handlesd, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, having a bifurcate'd rnember 36 attached to its end. Bifurcated member 36 is preferably made of a resilient material, such as spring wire or the like, and can be compressed by hand and inserted into the glove where it will hold the glove in position thereon by its material resiliency. The ends 38 of bifurcated member 36 will 4 eurx inuardl s tha rhsrenil b n ha p po o projecting which will wear or puncture the waterproof glove.

It is easily seen that the provision of handle 34 increases the utility of the washing device. Handle 34 can be snapped on or off of the hand receiving element 18 with a minimum efiort as the situation requires.

The terminology used 'in the specification is for the purpose of description and not limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claim.

lclaim:

A car washing device of the character described, cornprising a resilient and substantially rectangular thick cellular pad having "top and bottom planar surfaces, said pad having a cut in its top surface extending longitudinally and centrally from one end thereof and terminating short of the other end thereof, the cut in said pad having a .depth .less than one-half of the thickness of said pad, a hand-receiving element formed of moistureproof materiaLIsaidhand-receiving element being adhesively' secured .to .the top planar surface of said pad and holding the walls of the cut in said pad in a substantiallyv contiguous position, the walls of said out being capable of extension, 8. flexible tube having a diameter substantially equal tothe depth of the cut in said pad and an end .cutron a bias, said flexible .tube'being inserted into said cutand'ext'ending the contiguous walls of said cut so that the wallsjcompletely encircle the same, said bias end of said tube'having its tip portion positioned adjacent the top surface of said pad and the hand-receiving element secured to said pad, and said flexible tube having a plurality of transverse apertures in its end portion which is inserted into said cut.

References Cited in the file of this patent -UNITED STATES PATENTS 

